RES/320
March 21, 2011
First Energy: Business Research Applications
First Energy is a multi-state corporation with more than 17000 employees and supplies electricity to customers in six states including Ohio, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland (First Energy Corp, 2011). With this many customers comes a large responsibility to maintain competitive costs and services. Supplying electricity, including customer and business revenue, is a costly venture. (confusing) To stay viable and competitive, extensive research into alternative forms of energy is essential. First Energy spends much time and expense into this research and explains itself further in the following paragraphs. You are providing the explanations not the company.
First energy commits itself to abiding by the rules, regulations, laws, and environmental policies in effect (First Energy, 2010). As pollution laws become stricter and fines increase for higher than allowed pollution levels, First energy must find efficient and cheaper ways to supply electrical energy. For First Energy to move forward with technology, keep customer and business rates low, and comply with state and federal regulations, First Energy spends generous amounts of time and assets into research. Excellent.
A major portion of these assets and time First Energy uses, is research into improving and enhancing existing equipment. To accomplish this, First energy partners with various organizations to test prototype equipment and processes. These partners include The University of Akron, The Defense Department, Case Western Reserve University, The Cuyahoga Valley National Park, and The Electric Power Research Institute. First Energy has been partnered with and has a long history of research with The Electric Power Institute. One example of this research includes the installation of two solid-oxide fuel cells. The installation of these cells at the
References: Dickinson, B. (2010, November 4). First Energy Tests The World 's Largest Mobile Fuel Cell System. Retrieved from http://techcrunch.com/2010/11/04/firstenergy-largest-mobile-fuel-cell/ First Energy Corp. (2011, February 6). Our Electric Companies. Retrieved from http://www.firstenergycorp.com/about.html First Energy Corp. (2011, March 8). FirstEnergy Seeking Additional Solar Renewable Energy Credits for Ohio Utilities. Retrieved from http://http://www.firstenergycorp.com/content/fecorp/newsroom/news_releases/firstenergy_seekingadditionalsolarrenewableenergycreditsforo hiou.html First Energy. (2010). Corporate Responsibility. Retrieved from http://www.firstenergycorp.com/environmental/files/FECorpResp.pdf Shingler, D. (2011, February 9). First Energy Solutions signs deal to buy wind energy from Iberdrola Renewables. Retrieved from http://http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20110209/FREE/110209833